Users often need to perform an electronic search and then analyze a set of search results. The electronic search may be wide-ranging or narrowly focused. In some cases, the search is global in nature, spanning the Internet. In other cases, the search is within a single electronic document, such as an electronic book, newspaper, magazine, or other digital publication.
The search results often include corresponding snippets of information that help the user select and view content (e.g., a document or portion thereof) corresponding to an individual search result that is closest to what the user is looking for.
But existing methods for using snippets to select and view content corresponding to an individual search result are cumbersome and inefficient. For example, a snippet may not provide adequate context for the text included in the snippet, so the user has to select the search result and view the content corresponding to the search result to ascertain whether the content matches the user's needs. Going back and forth between viewing search result snippets and viewing content corresponding to individual search results is tedious and creates a significant cognitive burden on a user. In addition, existing methods for viewing and using snippets to select content (e.g., a search result) that is closest to what the user is looking for take longer than necessary, thereby wasting energy. This latter consideration is particularly important in battery-operated devices.